UNH lecturer well liked, respected by peers

Wednesday

Feb 19, 2014 at 10:24 AMFeb 19, 2014 at 5:54 PM

DURHAM — Professional associates and students expressed surprise and shock earlier this week at the news University of New Hampshire Lecturer Eric Paul Engel shot and killed himself Saturday, Feb. 15, in Florida after allegedly killing Aleksander “Lenny” Wysocki, 74, in North Carolina on Friday, Feb 14.

By SUSAN DOUCETExecutive EditorThe New Hampshire

DURHAM — Professional associates and students expressed surprise and shock earlier this week at the news University of New Hampshire Lecturer Eric Paul Engel shot and killed himself Saturday, Feb. 15, in Florida after allegedly killing Aleksander “Lenny” Wysocki, 74, in North Carolina on Friday, Feb. 14.

According to his LinkedIn profile page, Engel finished his dissertation at the University of South Florida, earned a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of Virginia and a master's degree in communication from Purdue University.

Engel was teaching three courses this semester in the communications department at UNH.

Zachary Croteau, a junior communications major, is a student in the Introduction to Language and Social Interaction course that was taught by Engel. Students in this course were met by counselors from the University of New Hampshire Counseling Center Monday morning.

“We're all pretty freaked out,” Croteau said. “Just knowing that he had it on his mind. … We were just with him last Wednesday.”

Croteau described Engel as a nice guy.

“He was always very up, and looking to the future,” Croteau said. “I didn't see any signs of anything dark.”

Stephanie Robinson, a sophomore communications major in the same class as Croteau, also said that she was shocked when she heard the news over the weekend.

“I personally loved him as a teacher,” she said. “I went in the first day and I absolutely fell in love with him as a teacher. … I was like, 'I'm gonna get so much from this class.'”

Haley Pratt, a senior psychology major also in this class said she immediately liked Engel's class. “My sister and I were both in his class. … We really liked him,” she said.

Pratt said Engel was different from other professors; she said that he handed out balls and stuffed animals for students to hold while he spoke on the first day of class.

Engel shared some of his personal interests with the class, Pratt said. “He told us he wanted to go sailing around the world.

“He always talked about how he was very anti-violence and against wars,” she said.

Croteau mentioned Engel posted a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip on the course's Blackboard page last week. The comic had a Valentine's Day theme in which Calvin, the boy, tells Hobbes, the tiger, he is making a Valentine for Susie, on which he writes, “Susie, I hate you. Drop dead. Calvin.”

“It's almost too weird to be a coincidence,” Croteau said.

Lecturer in communication Joseph Terry shared an office with Engel in Horton Hall. Terry said he was hired this summer shortly before Engel was hired and they had attended new faculty orientation together. Terry said Engel was a kind and caring person who showed concern for his teaching and his students.

“It's pretty shocking to say the least,” Terry said. Terry said he had not seen Engel in about two or three weeks because the two had opposite schedules this semester; Engel's courses were on Mondays and Wednesdays and Terry's courses are on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“He seemed obviously to be very sensitive, very caring. … He chose his words very wisely,” Terry said. “He would do very kind things.”

Engel loved dogs and cats, according to Terry, which was a common interest for the two lecturers. Engel had cats, and Terry and his girlfriend have a dog. Terry's dog was sick in the fall and “Eric showed a lot of concern,” Terry said.

On the Blackboard page for the language and social interaction course, Engel posted personal information about himself as well as information about his academic and professional experience. He wrote, “I love animals but at present have just two cats. They're both rescues. … I love gardening, cooking and eating (primarily pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan fare). I've a passion for words — academically, professionally, and poetically.”

When Terry and his girlfriend met Engel in the fall, Terry said his girlfriend “really, really liked Eric.”

Other professors in the department said they did not know Engel as well as Terry did.

“My interaction with him was mainly confined to mutual attendance at an occasional faculty meeting and at the department holiday party in mid-December. I had a few short friendly conversations with him about ordinary things — his adjustment to New England weather, and the like, and I extended personal congratulations to him upon his completion of the Ph.D. degree earlier this academic year from the University of South Florida,” said James Farrell, a communications professor.

Robert Jackson, senior lecturer in communications, recalled meeting Engel during the fall semester.

“I remember seeing Eric in the room at a few department meetings since last September. We all introduced ourselves then, but I don't remember the sound of his voice. I nodded hello to him in the hall a couple of times last semester, but I never had a conversation with him,” Jackson wrote in an email. “My best impression of him is that some of my best students were animated by the papers they were writing for his classes. I hope his students will continue to be animated by his best, most inspiring lessons.”

The university is currently trying to find another professor to teach Engel's three courses for the rest of the semester.

“The university is focused on making arrangements to cover his classes for the remainder of the semester and to make counseling available to the students in this classes as well as any campus community member who needs to talk with someone,” said Media Relations director Erika Mantz in an email.

“The Communication Department, and in particular, the chairperson of the department, Professor Meyrowitz, is currently working diligently to find a suitable replacement to take over the classes,” Farrell said in an email.

“They said that they're still figuring it out and just to keep checking our email,” Robinson said.

Counseling is available to members of the UNH community. The UNH Counseling Center, located on the third floor of Smith Hall at 3 Garrison Ave., is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 24-hour help is available at 603-862-2090.

(Melissa Proulx and Brittany Schaefer, staff writers for The New Hampshire, contributed to this report.)